Software Enhanced
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Joel Barker’s Implications Wheel® is a software-enhanced, group process for discovering and mapping the implications of change:
The implication map for a particular change is used to design actions to minimize the negative—and maximize the positive—consequences of that change. |
Software Upgraded for 2021
Updated "Visualizer" for Apple, iPad Compatibility -- New "Remote" Features
Generating Implications |
The foundation of an Implications Wheel map is comprised of written implication statements. These statements are usually generated by teams of five working together. All teams may be gathered in one location, or each team may operate on its own time, in its own location. The live team process is structured to engage participants in respectful discussion, even between opposing sides of contentious issues.
The number of persons to involve in exploring a particular change is flexible. It depends on the complexity of the change being considered as well as the number of persons and amount of time that are available. Generally, the range is from 25 to 150 people. |
Scoring and the Wisdom of Crowds |
After the implication statements are generated, they are scored for desirability and likelihood. Once scored, the implication statements form a rich, visual map that can be searched and filtered based on various criteria.
Scoring is the part of the Implications Wheel process that can be opened to the largest numbers of participants. After teams have generated implications, those teams will usually score them. But you can also invite persons from around the globe to contribute their scores, enabling you to involve several hundred—or even a few thousand—participants. Each participant is blind to the scores assigned by other participants, and the median score for each implication is computed, thereby meeting the parameters for a true Wisdom of Crowds assessment of how desirable each implication is and how likely it is to occur. A detailed Wisdom of Crowds analysis of the Implications Wheel is available by contacting us. |
Stakeholder Points of View |
Since the desirability or undesirability of a particular implication depends on one's point of view, an implication map can be simultaneously scored by different stakeholders. For example:
A corporation could invite management to score and union members to score, and then generate comparison maps from the results. This would reveal areas of potential conflict between labor and management that might result from the change. It would also reveal areas where labor and management would both be hurt—or would both benefit—and therefore might be inclined to cooperate. |
Informed Leaders |
The resulting implication maps give leaders a clear picture of what they are facing. Leadership uses this information to make well informed decisions. The Decision Strategy components of the Implications Wheel software enable those responsible for a change to design targeted actions around anticipated areas of opportunity and threat in order to reap maximum benefit and to avoid or mitigate harm.
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